Another Miracle For Mets Late Rallies Stun Red Sox In Showdown

NEW YORK — The New York Mets are king of the hill, top of the heap, baseball's champions for 1986, overcoming a 3-0 lead by the Boston Red Sox Monday night to win Game 7 of the World Series, 8-5.

Back-to-back home runs in the second inning by Dwight Evans and Rich Gedman gave Boston a 2-0 lead and an RBI single in the same inning by Wade Boggs made it 3-0.

The Mets scored three times in the sixth inning off Bruce Hurst to tie the score, and three more in the seventh to go ahead, 6-3. The game-winning run was a homer by Ray Knight that put New York up, 4-3.

The Red Sox refused to fold however, coming back in the eighth with a couple of runs. Bill Buckner singled, Jim Rice singled and Evans doubled to right to score them both.

Left-hander Jesse Orosco came in to bail out fellow reliever Roger McDowell to retire the next three hitters and keep the Mets up by a run.

Darryl Strawberry stroked a home run off Al Nipper in the home eighth to put the Mets ahead by two again, 7-5. Orosco singled in another run to make it 8-5.

The home runs by Evans and Gedman in the second inning were the first back-to-back homers in a World Series since 1981 when Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager of the Los Angeles Dodgers connected in the fifth game against the New York Yankees.

Evans drove the ball to left-center, just a little bit farther than his home run in Game 2.

Gedman hit his to right and got some help from right fielder Strawberry, who jumped at the fence, got a piece of the ball in his glove, but couldn't hold on to it. On the pitch before his homer, Gedman fouled off into the stands, and as the fans scrambled for the ball, a front-row railing collapsed and play was halted until repairs could be made.

The Red Sox continued to get at starter Ron Darling, who walked Dave Henderson. Hurst bunted Henderson to second and Boggs drove him across with a single to center field. Henderson came in well before a throw from Mookie Wilson. Marty Barrett also singled, his 13th hit in the Series, but Buckner ended the inning with a liner to center.

The Red Sox got the leadoff batters on in the third and fourth innings but couldn't get another run. Rice led off the third with a drive off the left- field wall but was thown out by Kevin Mitchell as he tried to make a single a double.

Henderson walked to begin the fourth and once again Hurst got him to second on a sacrifice. With this, Manager Davey Johnson removed Darling and brought in left-hander Sid Fernandez. Boggs walked but Fernandez retired Barrett on a line drive to Strawberry.

Hurst held the Mets in check the first five innings, allowing only one hit, a single with two outs in the second inning by Ray Knight.

The Mets came to life in the sixth, scoring three times to tie. With one out pinch hiter Lee Mazzilli singled to left. Wilson also singled and Tim Teufel walked to load the bases.

Keith Hernandez singled to left to score Mazzilli and Wilson and send Teufel to third. Gary Carter hit a looper into right field that Evans seemed to have caught. The ball got loose, however, as Evans fell to the ground. Pinch runner Wally Backman (for Teufel) scored but Hernandez, who thought the ball was caught, was out when he tried again to make it to second. Carter reached first on a fielder's choicel RBI. Strawberry lined out to end the inning, the score tied, 3-3.

Knight, the first batter to face Schiraldi, homered to left to put the Mets up, 4-3. Knight's homer was the 11th of the Series but the first by a player on the home team.

Vin Scully, announcing the game for NBC-TV, commented as Len Dykstra followed Knight's homer with a single that ''it was so noisy at Shea Stadium that you can't hear the airplanes.''

''It's too noisy for the planes,'' Joe Garagiola came back. ''They've had to stop running.''

Rafael Santana singled to right to score Dykstra and make it 5-3. McDowell bunted, pushing Santana to second. McNamara then replaced Schiraldi with left- hander Joe Sambito. Wilson was walked intentionally. Backman walked (unintenionally). Hernandez hit a sacrifice fly to deep center to score Santana and make it 6-3. Bob Stanley was brought in to replace Sambito.

Stanley retired Carter on a grounder to short to finally end the Mets' seventh.

At that point Mets management decided to call in 80 mounted police to keep the fans from running onto the field.